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Health Watch — Summer's Last Gasp: Ice Cream

Health Watch is a Public Service of theOffice of News and Publicationsand is intended to provide general information only and should not replace the advice of a medical professional. You should contact your physician if you have questions about any of these topics.

This week on Health Watch, we’ve been talking about getting through the last weeks of summer heat more comfortably. On a really hot day, an ice cream cone seems like just the thing to cool you off. But is it, really?

Lona Sandon, a registered dietitian at UT Southwestern Medical Center, says that while the ice cream may make you feel temporarily cooler, it doesn’t actually change your body’s temperature much. What cools your body is fluid. It’s the amount of fluid in your muscles, blood and cells that affects your body temperature. When you’re dehydrated, your body has a hard time maintaining a normal temperature. Ice cream does melt into fluid and may help in that respect, but to really cool your body, have a glass of cold water to go along with your ice cream and be sure to drink enough liquids throughout the day, especially on hot days or when you’re active.

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August 2007

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